Report Links Jared Kushner's Gaming Sessions With Saudi Crown Prince to EA Deal

A newly published profile of Jared Kushner's diplomatic and business activity has added an unusual detail to the story behind Electronic Arts' pending change in ownership: Kushner reportedly enjoys playing video games with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS.

The report places that shared hobby in the context of the enormous deal involving Electronic Arts, the publisher behind franchises including Battlefield, EA Sports FC, The Sims, Apex Legends, and many more. It says Kushner introduced the Saudi crown prince to EA chief executive Andrew Wilson last August, before a consortium assembled to acquire the company for $55 billion. The acquisition was approved last month, the profile says.

If the reported details are accurate, the story illustrates the remarkably personal networks operating behind one of the largest and most consequential transactions the game industry has ever seen. EA is not simply another entertainment company changing hands. It is a major publisher with games, studios, online services, esports operations, player communities, and consumer data spread across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo hardware, and mobile devices.

A gaming connection before a landmark acquisition

The profile describes Kushner as someone who plays games with Mohammed bin Salman and says he made the introduction between the crown prince and Wilson. The two executives reportedly met in Neom, the huge Saudi development project on the Red Sea, and played golf. A person described as having ties to Middle Eastern leaders characterized Kushner as the person who brought the EA opportunity to MBS.

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Not long afterward, the crown prince reportedly formed a consortium that included Affinity to acquire EA. At $55 billion, the deal has been described as the largest leveraged buyout in history. Leveraged buyouts typically use substantial borrowed money alongside investor capital, an approach that can put pressure on the acquired company to generate cash, reduce spending, sell assets, or restructure its operations after the transaction closes.

That possibility matters greatly for EA employees and players. The company operates at a scale where even small changes in corporate priorities can affect thousands of workers, long-running game series, studios, live-service roadmaps, licensing agreements, and support for older titles. A debt-heavy ownership structure could make cost controls a defining concern rather than a behind-the-scenes financial matter.

The report does not identify which games Kushner and the crown prince play together, nor does it suggest that a particular title directly led to the EA discussions. Still, the claim stands out because gaming is usually discussed as entertainment or cultural consumption, while this account presents it as part of a relationship that overlapped with high-level diplomacy, investment, and corporate dealmaking.

Why EA is a particularly significant target

EA has one of the broadest footprints in interactive entertainment. Its annual sports releases reach huge global audiences; its shooter and racing franchises are staples on major consoles and PC; its mobile business has a long history; and its online games process large volumes of player account and behavioral information. Ownership of the company therefore carries commercial, cultural, and data-security implications well beyond the release schedule of any single game.

The publisher's biggest properties also depend on long-term trust. Players spend years building libraries, maintaining accounts, buying downloadable content, participating in online communities, and making recurring purchases in live games. Any large ownership transition naturally raises questions about whether existing strategies will continue, whether teams will face reductions, and how investment priorities may shift.

Those questions are intensified by the size of the reported transaction. Game-industry acquisitions have often produced consolidation, studio closures, layoffs, changing release plans, and efforts to focus on franchises with the clearest recurring revenue. None of those outcomes is guaranteed in EA's case, and the available account does not provide a detailed post-acquisition operating plan. But the leverage involved means industry observers will likely watch closely for changes in staffing, development budgets, portfolio strategy, and publishing partnerships.

Regulatory and player-data questions

The profile also highlights concerns over EA's handling of private user information. Major publishers hold data connected to millions of players, including account details, device information, gameplay behavior, purchasing histories, social connections, and, in some circumstances, information used for security and anti-cheat systems. That makes a cross-border acquisition of a company like EA more than a conventional entertainment deal.

Such issues can fall under the remit of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, commonly called CFIUS. The federal interagency body reviews certain transactions involving foreign investment for national-security risks. The profile says the deal raised potential regulatory questions because of EA's data holdings, but that it was approved last month.

It also notes that the committee is largely made up of Trump administration officials and that the president holds final authority in the process. That political context is central to the scrutiny surrounding the deal because Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and has maintained major relationships in the Middle East.

For players, a regulatory approval does not automatically answer every practical concern. Data governance, service continuity, moderation policies, employee retention, and the direction of individual studios remain matters that will be judged over time. Approval means the transaction cleared the relevant review described in the report; it does not provide a public blueprint for how EA's games and services will be managed after the ownership change.

Saudi Arabia's expanding role in games

The EA acquisition sits within Saudi Arabia's much wider push into gaming and esports. The country has pursued investments across publishers, competitive gaming, events, and game-development initiatives as part of a broader economic diversification strategy. Those efforts have made Saudi-backed organizations increasingly important participants in the business side of games.

At the same time, the expansion has drawn sustained criticism and controversy. Mohammed bin Salman has been accused in connection with the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with reporting and assessments by U.S. intelligence linking the crown prince to an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi. Saudi officials have denied that MBS ordered the murder. The seriousness of that case has shaped public and industry reactions to Saudi investment in entertainment, including games.

The report further suggests there may be uncertainty inside Saudi Arabia's broader gaming operations. Savvy Games Group, another major Saudi gaming company, was reportedly left trying to understand how the country's publishing interests would be organized following the EA arrangement. That uncertainty is notable because a deal of this size could reshape the relationship between existing Saudi-backed game initiatives and the newly acquired publisher.

What comes next for EA

The account of Kushner's reported gaming relationship with the crown prince may attract headlines, but the longer-term issue is what the acquisition means for EA itself. The company's audience will be looking for evidence that its studios can continue making games without disruptive cuts or an excessive shift toward short-term financial goals. Employees will be watching for clarity on organizational structure, leadership, and the degree of independence retained by EA's creative teams.

EA's portfolio gives the new ownership group enormous reach, but it also creates enormous obligations. Maintaining annual sports titles, supporting live games, funding new projects, managing licenses, defending player data, and retaining experienced developers all require consistent investment. The costs associated with a leveraged transaction could complicate those priorities, particularly if the business is expected to rapidly service a large debt burden.

For now, the reported connection between Kushner, MBS, and Wilson offers a striking glimpse at the relationship-building behind the deal. A pastime shared in private reportedly existed alongside diplomatic ties and major investment discussions, eventually intersecting with the sale of one of gaming's most influential publishers. The consequences, however, will be measured less by that unusual origin story than by what happens to EA's people, games, and players in the years after the acquisition.